16
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
BOARD EDITORIALS
LACK OF EDUCATION
The state got the lottery up and running today, but it has not begun a
gambling-addiction education program that was in the original deal.
To anyone reading the newspapers the last few
months, it seems North Carolina’s lottery has
become nothing but one giant debacle.
Not only has the state let questionable practices
guide the legislation’s wording and mislead the pub
lic about the use of lottery profits, it seems it has
failed to put into place a system to
educate our youngsters about the
dangers of gambling addiction.
The lottery will make its debut
today, starting what is sure to be a
popular game in the state. However,
the N.C. Department of Health and
Human Services, armed with $1
million, has yet to pick which pro
grams will be implemented to teach
BLOGGIIW’
with the
Opinion Desk
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issue online:
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children about gambling addiction.
Smith Worth of the department told The Daily
Tar Heel initially that officials are planning to have
brochures and help lines. But they’re still shopping
around for the right programs for youth education.
Hot new super-fly lotto logo? Check.
Games in place? Check.
CLAIMING THE PAST
With the rechristening of Hinton James North Residence Hall in honor
of a slave, the University is finally beginning to accept its whole history.
After four years, Hinton James North Residence
Hall finally has escaped the daunting shadow
of its similarly named predecessor.
As creative as the handle “Hinton James North”
might have been, the residence hall’s new name recog
nizes far more than its relative directional location.
The residence hall’s new moniker George Moses
Horton Residence Hall acknowledges an aspect of
our history that is difficult but necessary to face.
As part of the campus’s intellectual life, the recog
nition of Horton is fitting, and it is long past time we
recognize the unnoticed talents of that dark time.
Horton, who lived during the 1800s in Chatham
County, was the first black slave to publish a book in
the South. A poet, Horton walked to the University to
sell his poetry and have it transcribed as he recited.
The shame of the South’s regretful past often pre
vents the community from confronting its own ties to
the institution of slaveiy.
In designating the hall a memorial in honor
of Horton, we are acknowledging the people that
University history often glosses over.
Like the Unsung Founders’ Memorial in McCorkle
Place, Horton Residence Hall further recognizes the
START IT UP - AGAIN
With the rejection of the nominee for Honor Court chairman, the whole
nomination process should be restarted according to the Student Code.
As one of the last official acts of the 87th session
of Student Congress, representatives reject
ed departing Student Body President Seth
Dearmin’s nominee for Honor Court chairman.
Congress was right to reject Mark Ihnat to be the
next chairman and to cause the process to be started
anew.
Yes, Ihnat is qualified and he has the Honor Court
behind him; we do not question whether he will be
an effective chairman.
However, the selection process that led to his
nomination was tainted by predetermination and
lacked proper competition.
The Honor Court met and voted on which individ
ual should be the next chairman, clearing the way for
his application to go to the selection committee —and
to his eventual nomination —with little challenge.
That undemocratic process was discarded from the
Instrument of Student Governance in 2003, yet some
how the process has continued. It doesn’t take much
to see why it was dropped and why it has persisted.
The judicial branch is the least democratic of the
branches: None of its members are elected or are
not directly accountable to the people. If not for the
EDITOR'S NOTE: The above editorials are the opinions solely of The Daily Tar Heel editorial board and were reached after open debate. The
board consists of six board members, the associate opinion editor, the opinion editor and the DTH editor. The 2005-06 DTH editor decided not
to vote on the board and not to write board editorials. Address concerns to Public Editor Elizabeth Gregory at elizagre@email.unc.edu.
READERS’ FORUM
Vigils are a waste of energy
that could be used for action
TO THE EDITOR:
I found myself in agreement
with Wednesday’s editorial “A
futile exercise” about yet another
vigil in Polk Place signifying cam
pus unity —a “visible stand” that
was taken.
My vision must be failing me,
because after the umpteenth vigil
in the past month or so, it seems
as if they are beginning to lose their
real meaning as well.
Earlier this year a column in The
Daily Tar Heel spoke of taking real
stands against issues, rather than
throwing around nice-sounding
words and patting ourselves on
the back for taking advantage of
our First Amendment rights to free
speech and assembly.
Sure, vigils are beautiful events,
but where do they lead?
Now that our solidarity with the
Muslim community has supposedly
been reinforced, what next?
How will we continue to improve
it?
There is more to exhibiting our
campus solidarity than standing in
Polk Place for a while.
How about we brainstorm some
ideas for not only dialogue, but
some sort of action to ensure the
Pit accident never happens again,
backlashes against the Muslim
community in reaction to such
Inform public of real intent for profits months
later? Check.
It seems officials can get off their dufls to get the
important stuff done, consequences be damned.
Gambling is like many other things that can be
dangerous, such as drinking, smoking or even over
eating. It is also a choice people must be 18 to
purchase a lottery ticket on their own.
But if the state created this system and promised
a remedy in light of possible addictions, then it has
to deliver.
Why is it officials can make sure to have to games
ready to go even when the lottery legislation is in
the state courts, but can’t deal with details such as
gambling-addiction education when the money is
already sitting around?
It seems misplaced priorities have left us putting the
cart before the horse: valuing money over children.
State officials hammered us for months about the
need for a lottery in North Carolina and how they
would make sure children were made aware of the
risk of gambling.
They did the first part, but we need the rest now.
contributions
of enslaved and
free individu
als who helped
to create the
University we
now know.
Buildings
on campus are
often named for a wealthy alumnus or supporter
who donated a significant chunk of change to the
University. But these days, most construction is
made possible by federal bonds and grants, and The
N.C. Education Bond Residence Hall just doesn’t
have that same ring.
Craige North and Ehringhaus have not yet been
renamed, and the University should continue to rec
ognize figures its history has cast aside.
But what’s even more important than memorials
and buildings is the education of students about the
history of the University and the state.
So while the renaming is a good step, let’s not stop
at a residence hall’s door when it comes to respecting
our unsung founders.
oversight by the executive and Congress, it could run
completely willy-nilly.
Meanwhile, it is tempting to allow a branch that
requires so much technical knowledge to decide who
is going to run it or at least have some input
But while the judicial branch should have input it
shouldn’t be allowed to nominate its own chairman—
that’s just too much power in one branch.
So the process should begin again. If Ihnat still wants
the job, let him apply again. And if the Honor Court still
wants him*to be the chairman, let its members say so.
But let’s not have that be the end all, be all. If
someone else wants to apply then they should feel
free to and the selection committee should give them
a fair chance at being a nominee if they’re qualified.
And while we’re at it, the Student Code dictates
that the Student Attorney General approved
Tbesday should have been in office almost a month
ago. Good job there, Mr. Dearmin. Apparently, the
Honor Court isn’t the only branch making things up
as it goes along.
Problems such as illegal and late nominations to
key offices shouldn’t happen. To every incoming stu
dent government member, please read the Code.
events are prevented and, in gen
eral, people of different ideologies
are brought together.
Vigils are a start, but when
they begin to feel repetitive, it is a
reminder that they are a building
block to bigger things and bigger
actions.
It is startling how quickly we
lose sight of that fact and get lost
in the symbolism of vigils and
the narcissism that results from
impassioned speeches and tirades
that allow us to admire our own
voices.
I’d be more than happy myself
to work with campus organization
leaders to work on inciting some
real action.
Bennett Campbell
Freshman
Undeclared
Check out spring sports and
see why you should be there
TO THE EDITOR:
Contrary to popular opinion, the
2005-06 UNC athletics season did
not end when the men’s basketball
team lost.
I am emphasizing that to encour
age the student body to support the
other UNC sports this spring.
If you look at the numbers,
many of our teams are ranked
top 10 in the country, including
the baseball team, both the wom-
Opinion
Overdue recognition
Previously: Hinton James
North Residence Hall
New designation: George
Moses Horton Residence Hall
en’s track and field and lacrosse
teams, and the women’s tennis
teams.
So as the temperature goes up
and the semester winds down, I
encourage you to come out and
support spring sports on cam
pus.
After all, with the strength of our
athletics program, the Tar Heels
are bound to win another champi
onship soon.
Leslie Espy
Intern
Athletic Communications
SUDAN group goes beyond
just Pit events with action
TO THE EDITOR:
We wholeheartedly agree with
Nathaniel Gindele’s suggestions in
his letter on March 24.
Weekly vigils in the Pit are not
nearly adequate for raising aware
ness about the crisis in Darfur.
That is why SUDAN has planned
events for the remainder of the
semester.
The first week of April, we are
constructing a mock refugee camp
in Polk Place in which any student
can participate.
The week also will include a film
screening and a dinner on April 6,
the anniversary of the Rwandan
genocide.
The week’s events will culminate
FROM THE DAY’S NEWS
“It’s really unfortunate that we’ve had to talk about the fact
that there will be addicted gamblers in North Carolina.”
STEPHEN DANIELS, director of research for the n.c. family policy council, on the n.c. lottery
EDITORIAL CARTOON
PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED BY THEIR STUDENT GOVERNMENTS
STUDENT GOVERNMENTS SHOULD BE IGNORED BY THEIR PEOPLE
for DISAPPOINTMENT
r I LEAVING APRIL H
COMMENTARY ;
Straw polls for ’OB election
are not to be taken seriously
If there’s one thing I learned
while working toward
increasing student voter turn
out these last two years, it’s that
students like to elect presidents.
We had about 10,000 people
show up to vote in 2004, and
in 2005, well, I think we could
have filled up one of the spa
cious bathrooms in Linda’s with
students eager to keep this town
from descending into a towering
inferno of chaos and destruction.
That being said, I’m sure many
of you are preparing for the ’OB
elections. I know, I know —some
might say I’m getting ahead of
myself; there are some minor
elections in the middle involving,
among other things, House mem
bers that could singlehandedly
deprive the Republicans of total
control of our federal government.
But I think we can all agree
that those people are of no real
importance they aren’t the
president of the United States of
America.
So, let’s get to the straw polls.
That’s right, those wacky politicos
are already conducting polls that
are accurate to plus or minus three
points, in which one point equals
about half of those surveyed. The
results might shock you.
In the Southern Republican
Leadership Conference, news
outlets are reporting that Sen.
McCain, R-Ariz., lost his footing,
winning less than 5 percent of die
total vote while Sen. Bill Frist,
R-Tenn., will most certainly win
the next Republican presidential
primary after an admirable show
ing of about 37 percent.
In between were the current
president ineligible for the posi
tion because of a little thing called
the Constitution —and two politi
cians whose name you’ve probably
never heard. But don’t worry in
a couple of years it will most likely
be impossible to escape them.
When you turn on the televi
sion, their smiling faces will be
in a vigil at noon Friday.
Beyond that, we are organizing
a delegation of UNC students to
attend a national lobbying week
end in Washington, D.C., at the
end of April.
Asa part of the national Power
to Protect campaign, we will meet
with our representatives and will
take part in a rally organized by
the Save Darfur Coalition.
However, large events are no
replacement for constant remind
ers of why we do what we do, why
we care about this issue.
Weekly vigils and lobbying
events are an integral part of a
campaign that we think about
every day.
We would rather not be
depressed seven days a week. For
that reason, we act to provide cause
for encouragement and optimism;
the active concern of people trans
lates to a reason to hope that we
can make a difference.
We invite Gindele and others to
come to vigils each Monday at 7
p.m. in the Pit or to participate in
any of SUDAN’S other efforts.
Taylor Steelman
National Coordinator
SUDAN
BLOBGIN’I Discuss letters
visit - apps. from the readers
daHytarheei.com/ Or post your own
biogs/edftor.php a t the Editor's blog
JEREMY SPIVEY
ALL OVER THE MAP
greeting you. A telemarketer will
be telling you how they love chil
dren and hate spending money
well, except on ads. They will
leave neither your Web browsers
nor your dreams.
But back to the straw poll.
Picky statisticians might be
reluctant to trust the polling tech
niques, as there were minor techni
calities that could dirty the results.
McCain, for instance, was dis
missive of an early poll and specifi
cally asked people to write in Bush’s
instead of his own name, saying, “If
any friends here are thinking about
voting for me, please don’t”
The “don’t vote for me” tactic
seems an increasingly unlikely
one for potential candidates as
the Republican primaries near
and might have convinced a few
people that would otherwise have
voted for McCain.
Additionally, Frist might have
had a few advantages that slightly
skewed the data.
The conference was held in
Tennessee, for instance, where as
majority leader of the Senate he
deposits the bucketloads of money
he picks up on behalf of that state.
Also, not convinced he could win
a, straw poll of his own state, Frist
might also have affected the results
by busing in supporters from the
other side of the state and paying
their $l5O registration fee just so
they could vote for him.
Unfortunately for McCain, it’s
an awfully long bus ride from
Arizona, especially if you’re just
going to ask them to vote for
someone else anyway.
So, how useful are these straw
Speak Out
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By Mason Phillips, mphll@email.unc.edu
polls?
I think the problems listed
above, while technical in nature,
could push the margin of error just
outside the realm of usefulness.
Regardless, the candidates have
taught all politicians a few lessons
that, if followed, surely will lead
to success.
For instance, we’ve learned that
busing is the answer.
If you want to win a political
primary, the best way to do it is to
charter buses. Nobody remembers
primaries anyway, and the elderly
and those without licenses often
find it hard to get to the polling
places.
If a candidate can charter buses
in every county in the United
States on Election Day, they’ll cer
tainly win.
This proposal is also endorsed
by the National Charter Bus
Association, or will be as soon as
they can find another 600,000
buses equipped with televisions
and auto-rewind VCRs for the 30-
second political ads that the buses
surely will be looping all day.
We also see that if you’re trying
to win an election, asking people
not to vote for you before the elec
tion takes place is probably the
worst way to win. It drastically
increases the odds that they will
vote for another candidate.
The results of the straw poll
additionally suggest that your sup
porters might not listen to who
you tell them to support when you
back out of the race; the odds of
this are increased if the candidate
is constitutionally ineligible for the
position, apparently.
A hearty thanks to the confer
ence members for providing a
couple valuable lessons. I can’t [
wait to see who the Democrats }
will choose. With polls like this, -'J
who needs elections?
V*
Contact Jeremy Spivey}
a senior political science major,
atjkspivey@email.unc.edui
www.dailytarheel.com
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